The Bullet: Take 2

Everything Joe Berk has written about the Bullet’s shaky performance on our Baja tour is true, but like our President’s spokeswoman has said, there are alternative facts in addition to real facts.

The first alternative fact is that motorcycle reliability is highly over-rated. For me, being broken down on the side of the road with the Bullet is much more preferable to gliding by silently on a plastic-encased, soulless appliance. Some of the funniest, most enjoyable times on our ride were when the Bullet did something strange requiring me and Berk to use our brains and not just our wallets. Besides, most of the Bullet’s issues were easily resolved with a hammer or by burning some sage (except for the chain and sprocket wearing out), and we were back on the road in a matter of minutes.

Another fact I dispute is the 70 miles-per-hour top speed of the Bullet. I swear I saw 80 miles per hour plus on the run down California’s busy Highway 15 and we were staying with traffic just fine. The Bullet may have gone even faster but I was in no mood to tuck in. Anyway, if you want speed a used Suzuki ‘Busa will set you back 3 to 5 thousand dollars and you’ll have all the speed you can stand.

The bike was a bit bent up in the rear. Not knowing the history we didn’t know if it had been dropped at some point or if the factory jigs put a twist into the operation from Day One. The Bullet’s steel kickstand was easy to bend so I offered to straighten out the rear frame but Berk felt we might just cause other problems in the process. I’m guessing other Bullets are not so crooked.

Even though the exciting new Royal Enfield 650 was supposed to be our focus on this Baja trip, the Bullet dominated the conversation and our thoughts. Good or bad, that’s a sign of an interesting motorcycle. Do I like the Bullet better than the new 650? Oh, hell no! I love the 650 and would buy one, but if you prefer the Bullet with all its faults you’re my kind of motorcyclist.